


The Dog Days of Summer

by Readerofmuch



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, dog park au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 06:47:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12227727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Readerofmuch/pseuds/Readerofmuch
Summary: Chirrut and Eco are new to the area. Bodhi's been helping him to learn to the neighbourhood, but some of the neighbours are much quicker to make themselves known. Certain rather canine neighbours, to be precise.





	The Dog Days of Summer

The new apartment is smaller than either Chirrut or Echo liked. Even with Bodhi downstairs to help him with groceries or finding his way around the new neighbourhood, it’s still a challenge. So when Bodhi suggested a dog park, even mentioning one just down the road, they’d both been relieved. They‘re walking out for groceries when Chirrut finally broaches the subject. 

“So where’s this dog park you mentioned?”

“Oh, it-it’s not far from here actually. Do you want to go there today?”

Chirrut shrugs. 

“It’s a beautiful day. Why not?”

Bodhi’s footsteps stutter next to him and Chirrut smiles.

“Bodhi, this wouldn’t have anything to do with that boy you mentioned?”

He can practically feel Bodhi blush next to him. 

“N-no!”

Chirrut raises an eyebrow and Bodhi sighs. 

“Not exactly.”

The silence hold for a few minutes and Chirrut listens to the cars passing by. 

“Okay, sort of?” 

They walk a little longer in silence. 

“So tell me about this dog park,” says Chirrut and Bodhi is off like a shot.

“It isn’t a big dog park, only twenty by fifty feet, but there’s almost always dogs in it. It has a small hill in the middle and it gets puddles when it rains.”

“I thought you don’t have a dog,” comments Chirrut. 

“Well it’s on the way to work so…”

Bodhi spends the rest of the walk describing the rest of the dogs he’s seen in the park. There’s Chewie, the brown shih tzu convinced he’s at least seven feet tall. Of course, who could forget the anxious golden lab who won’t do anything without his Jack Russell friend to force him onwards. Chirrut leans into the conversation, letting the descriptions wash away his growing sense of unease. The dog park sounds bigger and more active than he’d imagined. What if Echo was overwhelmed by the other dogs and wouldn’t listen to him? What if something happened and she wasn’t there? He had his cane folded in his satchel beneath his grocery bags but it was still-

“-Chirrut? Hello?”

Chirrut shakes his head. 

“Sorry Bodhi what was that?”

“We’re almost there. The entrance is twenty feet ahead, on the right side of the sidewalk.”

Chirrut nods. 

“And who is there?”

“Only three dogs, not including Echo.”

Chirrut can already hear the dogs barking and playing. Echo wiggles in her harness but she leads him onward anyways. 

Inside the dog park, Bodhi leads him to a bench. 

“I’ll be nearby if you need me. I’m just going to speak to a friend who’s here.”

“That friend wouldn’t happen to be Cassian Andor, would he?”

Bodhi’s silence is answer enough. Chirrut breaks out into a wide grin and waves Bodhi off. 

“Go on then. Who am I to stand in the way of true love? Keep an eye on Echo though, if you can.”

Bodhi leaves and suddenly Chirrut is sitting on the bench with only Echo. He unclasps Echo and takes off her vest, hiding his nerves in a reassuring pat.

“At ease, Echo.”

As she sprints off to play, Chirrut leans back on the bench. Now that he’s alone he can recognize the beauty of the day. The sun is warm and even with the road so close the air is fresh. He can here Bodhi’s stammer in response to another young man- that must be Cassian then. There’s a girl there too, someone Bodhi hadn’t mentioned. The conversation is too far off for him to hear, so he lets them have their privacy. The dogs are loud too. There’s a little yappy one and one that sounds very large barking fairly nearby. The next bark is closer, and then he can hear the dog running and-

“Kyber, no!”

-some kind of large dog slams into him, sending him toppling sideways. The dog leans over him, licking him frantically. 

“Kyber, down!” 

The dog retreats, leaving Chirrut completely lost on the ground. 

“I’m so sorry,” says the same man, “Kyber is just excited.”

“No worries, friend.”

There’s a beat. Chirrut reaches up. 

“I don’t suppose you could-” 

“Of course.”

The hand that takes Chirrut’s is large and warm. He is pulled to his feet and left off balance by the man’s surprising strength. 

“I’m- thank you. I’m Chirrut, Chirrut Imwe.”

“And I am Baze Malbus.”

Baze’s rumbling chuckle is warm and welcoming. The silence holds just a little too long, until Chirrut feels a familiar nose nuzzling at his hand. 

“Echo! Took you long enough, silly.”

Chirrut kneels to reassure Echo that the fall did not break him.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! I promise.”

Kyber is wuffling at Echo, investigating the strange dog. Echo barely even moves until she’s sure her master is safe. 

“So, Baze, do you come here often?”

Chirrut can hear Baze choke, stifling it into a cough. 

“Often enough,” Baze replies evenly.

“So you know the area fairly well?”

There’s a pause and then a wary response. 

“I suppose so.”

The ‘what’s your point’ remains implied. 

“My dog and I,” says Chirrut, leaning towards where he’s reasonably sure Baze is, “are new to the area. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to show us around?”

Echo heels beside him as Chirrut waits. After a beat, he continues. 

“Are there any good restaurants? Dinner, perhaps?”

“I-yes that would be nice.”

Barely a few minutes later, Chirrut has a date. Baze is an interesting person, and it seems they have much in common. They sit on the bench and talk for quite a while. Eventually, Baze and Kyber leave. Bodhi appears not long after to continue their walk, still flustered. 

“So, both of them?” asks Chirrut as they walk away from the dog park. Bodhi nearly stumbles into traffic. 

“What? How did- what?”

Chirrut only smiles. 

“I have my ways.”

They continue in silence, accompanied only by the thrum of rush hour traffic beside them. Finally Bodhi speaks. 

“So, did you like the dog park?”  
“You know,” says Chirrut thoughtfully, “ I think we both did.”

Bodhi chuckles lightly as they walk on towards the sinking sun. 

“I think we’ll like it here,” says Chirrut.


End file.
